


The Rite of Spring

by saltylikecrait



Series: Folklore Verse [3]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Gods & Goddesses, Alternate Universe - Mythology, Background Finnrey, F/M, Friendship, Motherhood, Past Rape/Non-con
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-15
Updated: 2020-03-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 17:13:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,949
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23150752
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saltylikecrait/pseuds/saltylikecrait
Summary: Rey ventures into the mountains to meet an old acquaintance.
Relationships: Finn/Rey (Star Wars), Kaydel Ko Connix & Rey
Series: Folklore Verse [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1642702
Comments: 7
Kudos: 17
Collections: Finnrey Fanfic Connection





	The Rite of Spring

**Author's Note:**

> This is a continuation fic for _The Memory of Wild Things._ As this series is heavily based in mythology, it's better to start with the original multi-chapter story.

It had been a long time since Rey had ventured outside her forest. Centuries, probably. Takodana was a vast kingdom and she never quite got over her humanity. Traveling alone was dangerous for a human, especially a woman, but she often forgot she wasn’t mortal anymore.

The mountains weren’t very far from home, but everywhere seemed far to her now. She had only been here once before, a long time ago with her father, but to her relief, not much had changed. The trees were not the same ones as before, but besides a small human settlement at the base of a mountain near a lake, everything was recognizable.

Her paws were sure-footed over the uneven terrain. She was glad she didn’t have to be forced into her lion form each sunrise anymore, but there were times this form brought her more confidence. She flew over the land, knowing few creatures would dare get in her way.

As she walked up the higher elevation, she paused to look down the mountain where a narrow river flowed through patches of trees, golden with their autumn colors. This was her favorite season, a moment of warm colors and beauty before the fragility of winter.

The steam of the hot springs just farther up the trail hit her face. She sniffed the air, checking for the scent of human and realized it was fine to proceed towards the springs.

They were a collection of natural formations that overlooked the mountainside, hardly touched or altered by human hands. Only a loose stone border had been placed here a long time ago, one that regularly needed to be remade, and an altar sat in the center of the largest pool.

Wading in the shallow spring, Rey moved to inspect the altar and wondered if it had changed after all these centuries. The carvings were more weathered, and now that she had watched human art change and evolve, they almost seemed primitive. The designs of rabbits and thyme - the ones that she could still clearly see – were rough and simplistic in nature.

A sprig of Lady’s Mantle sat on top of the altar. Though its tiny yellow buds were molding and its leaves were wrinkled from the steam, Rey guessed it had only been here a few days. A woman had likely traveled up here to bathe in the springs, the offering to the goddess suggesting a suffering womb. Pain, perhaps, more likely problems with conceiving. Those who bathed here often reported later of being cured of their ailments, hence, it had become a popular spot for those seeking help from the goddess.

A rustle from the dried and withering foliage captured Rey’s attention and she turned to see the source of the noise, a fawn-coated rabbit, appear in front of her. Not showing the forest lioness any fear, the tiny creature approached the spring and sat off to the side, dipping its paws in the warm water.

“I’m surprised you ventured out of your forest, Rey,” the rabbit goddess spoke. “It’s been a long time.”

“I’m glad to see you look so well, Kaydel.”

Both goddesses, seeing each other as equals, removed their masks. Rey closed her eyes and imagined her human hands removing it from her face, and when she opened them, she no longer had feline paws. Clutched in her hands, the lioness mask stared back at her. 

She waded back towards the fair-haired woman that replaced the rabbit. Draped in a silver and blue tunic, she ran her hands through the water and hummed thoughtfully.

“The girl who left me that offering has had two miscarriages this year,” she explained. “Poor thing.”

“Did you accept it?” Rey asked.

Kaydel nodded. “She’s a good girl. Kind and hard-working. I’m just not very happy with the man she married. He blames her for all of this.”

“Too often of a problem,” Rey agreed. She never paid much attention to the affairs of individual humans, but she had seen too many bad things in her lifetime to not know better. There were patterns, situations that often resulted in the same ending. The last time a human man tried to hide the body of his spouse in her forest, she pounced on him and tore his leg apart enough that he couldn’t run when the villagers went looking for him and his wife. She could not have been more pleased to hear his screams of agony when the others found him next to the body.

But Kaydel’s frown turned into a smile suddenly. “Not your lover though, the one I’m hearing about?”

“The exact opposite.”

“And I imagine he’s why you’re visiting me?”

“Part of it, anyway.” Rey reached down to move one of the loose stones bordering the hot spring back in place. “I was wondering about children…”

“We’ve already spoken about that.” The rabbit goddess smiled softly. “You know that’s no concern to you.” Then, she studied the other woman’s face and began to laugh. “Oh, are you saying this one’s different? You want a child with him?”

A blush reddened across Rey’s face. The last time they spoke, she’s summoned the fertility goddess to her home to ask her if she should worry about conceiving. It was just shortly after her mortality was stripped away, when Kylo held her down and forced himself inside her. It happened more than once the first couple of years. In the middle of his corruption, the god loved nothing more than to hurt her. After her initial time spent hiding from him, another fear crept into her mind and she picked flowers in her forest to offer as a summoning to the goddess, not knowing if Kaydel would answer her or not.

But she had then just as she had now. They had only met once before, but Rey sometimes thought of the fertility goddess as a friend for that reason. Many of the other deities didn’t bother with the Goddess of Wild Things.

“He’s certainly making me believe so.” Rey’s thoughts danced back and forth between Finn and her previous lovers, all mortal and long passed to the otherworld. They were there for her in times when she needed the comfort of another human being, each different in how they cared for her. There weren’t many, she could count them all on one hand, but each held a special place in her heart. Their memory helped her in times when she needed small moments to get her through the worst parts of immortality. Quick comfort. She had cared about all of them, but none had ever made her think she would want to stay _forever_ with them, let alone have a child with.

No one until Finn.

Kaydel continued studying her, dark eyes almost as quick and knowing as her father, the Earth God. He was the only deity Rey really had the pleasure of knowing, his counsel and friendship the closest thing she had to a parent since she lost her own. Perhaps his capacity to care for the lost and frightened was inherited by his daughter.

“If you’re changing your mind from _no children_ to this, I would say you’re serious about him,” the goddess observed, though there was pain in her expression. Regret, actually.

Rey recalled Kaydel had two sons, one who had fallen to corruption just as Kylo had. The Just God, Adoni.

“I’m sorry about your son,” she offered, not knowing what to say. She knew words would not change anything. “And your brother.”

The rabbit goddess sniffled before composing herself. “I’m glad you killed Kylo,” she replied. “He was a plague on all of us.”

“He was your brother,” Rey pointed out. “Would you be saying the same had he been your son?”

Kaydel paused before heaving a deep sigh. “Perhaps not. You’d think the gods were wise enough to stop our own when they became uncontrollable. We’re just as powerless to love as mortals.” She eyed the Goddess of Wild Things again. “Tell me: would you be able to kill your own child if you were in my place?”

Taking a moment, Rey imagined a child with skin as dark as the forest floor, eyes as green as her own with cropped and curled dark brown hair. Her child. Finn’s child. It didn’t exist but she loved the idea already.

Which was how she came to her answer. “I don’t think I could.”

Nodding, the other woman took another breath. “Then I know you will love your children just as much as I have.”

“When I danced with Finn’s friend, he told me what he knew Finn wanted out of marriage. Fatherhood was one of them.” Recalling how Poe questioned her the entire time they danced together, Rey remembered her initial unease when she learned Finn had always wanted to have children. She believed his best friend when he said it was important to him. “It’s the only thing I can’t give him.”

“You’d want that even though he’s mortal?” Kaydel truly looked surprised. 

“I was hoping you could help me with that too,” Rey admitted. If there was a way to bestow immortality on someone, she had not figured it out on her own and there was never a reason for her to ask before. “He’s still making a decision, but I think he might say yes.”

When the Goddess of Fertility shook her head, Rey felt her hopes drop. “I can’t help you with either,” she explained, apologetic. “Only my mother and father know how to make someone immortal – they told Kylo how. And only they can allow an immortal child to be born. This is the law of the world since the first humans were destroyed and replaced with their mortal counterparts.” 

“Is that how your sons were born?” Rey asked. She knew neither had been created by human belief like many of the lesser-deities. They craved sacrifice and offering but didn’t depend on it.

“My partner and I wanted children, but when they went in to add a strand into my life’s web, they found he couldn’t change it. Immortal Webs of Fate cannot be altered without higher intervention.” 

Rey imagined the spider god, Ventu trying so hard to alter the webs they spun, only to find their wife’s web unable to change to give them something they both wished for. She was sympathetic to a god with a job as important as theirs. For each mortal born, they weaved a web that mapped out that child’s life. Ventu could change the web, but they knew how long each child would live and how they would die. Even after thousands of years, it couldn’t be an easy task.

“To get around this, we asked my mother for her blessing. I fell pregnant shortly after,” Kaydel concluded. “I can’t help you, but my father is fond of you. I’m sure my parents will grant you both wishes.”

She stood up and walked over to Rey, leaning down to embrace her. “And if they need more convincing, I’ll tell them. I think you’ll make a good mother, Rey.”

Unable to help herself, Rey wrapped her arms around Kaydel. As the goddesses embraced each other, she wondered if this was what it was like to have a sister. Rey imagined the child again and thought she would like to have the kind fertility goddess to be a part of their life too.

"Oh, and it might not hurt to try the conceiving part on the next Night of the Rabbit Goddess." Kaydel pulled away with a wink. "I know your prince is a good one if he's smart enough to worship two goddesses on the same night."


End file.
